The first of May, should be mentioned as a day of “victims of freedom of speech” in the calendar

On Monday, first of May, a deadly terrorist attack in Kabul was conducted against journalists in the country. In this terrorist event, along with other citizens of the country, nine journalists and photographers were martyred and six others were wounded. In addition, another journalist in Khost Province was martyred by the gunmen.

In Afghanistan’s history, the first of May has been a cold terror attack. Previously, journalists and photographers of the Afghan media had never been targeted directly by terrorists. In 2016, a car carrying media staffs of the Moby media group targeted by the terrorist attack in which were 7 martyred and about 20 others were injured.

Regarding the depth of the disaster, The Nai office proposes the following with the national unity government:

To recognize the first of May as a day of “victims of freedom of speech” in the National Calendar of Afghanistan. The proposal was formally submitted to the government in a letter.

The government must arrange a solution and include formal regulations that will provide continuity and timely payment to survivors of the martyrs of the first of May Disaster and to the survivors of more than 80 martyrs in the field of journalism.

Given the vast amount of questions that have been posed in the area of ​​the “first of May” in the Afghan journalism and people’s community, the National Unity Government has to examine the disaster in a transparent manner, and introduce the perpetrators through the journalist community to Afghanistan people.

The Afghan government should reconsider the security of journalists and know that for any reason and under any circumstances, when journalists are killed, part of the responsibility lies with the Afghan government.

The media in the country are also urged not to hesitate to take any efforts in the security of their employees and to carry out their professional duties. Reporters also should know that reporting of no news is as important as their lives.

The government, along with national and international litigation institutions such as the Afghanistan independence human rights commission, united nations commission on human rights, Human Rights Reviewers of Reporters Without Borders, the US-based Journalists Protection Committee, and … should be the recorded “first of May” as a crime of war and crimes against humanity and pursues its process.